Who said motherhood must hamper a flourishing career in espionage? Black Doves, Netflix’s latest spy thriller, thrusts Keira Knightley, better known for her roles in Regency-era England, into the world of high-stakes espionage as Helen Webb: an ostensibly loving wife, a mother of two, and a highly skilled international spy.

Set against the glittering backdrop of Christmastime London, Black Doves attempts to blend spy thriller and murder mystery with a lighthearted tone. When Helen discovers that her adulterous lover has been murdered, she embarks on a perilous quest to uncover the culprit.

The series never quite makes up its mind about who Helen truly is — and perhaps she herself doesn’t know either. On the surface, Helen is a devoted wife and loving mother. Her relationship with her husband, Wallace, a man she initially met as part of a mission to spy on him, began with genuine affection. Handsome, ambitious, and caring, Wallace offers little reason for Helen’s betrayal. Not to mention the two children they’ve had together. Yet, the series asks viewers to believe she throws it all away for an affair born of happenstance when this would-be lover spills her coffee. The recklessness borders on sociopathy.

Worse still is........

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